Les deux faces - objective/subjective - de la mobilité sociale

How does objective social mobility, traditionally measured with tables of mobility drawn up by sociologists, relate to feelings about mobility, i.e., how individuals perceive, explain and appraise their social trajectory? Using a question from a survey (Insee's Formation, qualification professionnelle), subjective mobility was statistically evaluated so as to bring the two approaches to mobility together and measure the (considerable) frequency of deviations. Subjective mobility was then analyzed qualitatively on the basis of interviews conducted with respondents in the same survey. This helps us account for deviations and identify the bundle of parameters that people use to assess their own mobility. Certain limits, both methodological and conceptual, are pointed out that classical statistical surveys encounter in dealing with mobility.     

Risk-taking behavior in gamblers and non-gamblers during prolonged exposure

Most comparisons between personality traits of gamblers and non-gamblers have yielded no significant differences (Kusyszyn & Rutter, 1985). But from a behavioral standpoint, gamblers have consistently placed heavier monetary bets than non-gamblers. Furthermore, past researchers have clearly shown that the level of risk-taking behavior increased as a function of the number of trials (Ladouceur, Tourigny, & Mayrand, in press). The present research compared the level of risk-taking behavior of gamblers and non-gamblers during prolonged exposure to American roulette (four sessions of 50 trials each). Subjects of each group (N=8) were matched on sex, age and academic level. Risk behavior was operationally defined as 1. Total amount of money bet at each trial; 2. types of bets; and 3. monetary risk coefficient. The statistical analysis of the results showed that the monetary risk coefficient was greater for the gamblers than the non-gamblers. Furthermore, for the three dependent variables, risk level increased as a function of the number of sessions and of trials. The overall results confirmed that exposure to gambling activities increased the level of monetary risk-taking behavior in gamblers and non-gamblers.Part of this paper was presented at the Sixth National Conference on Gambling and Risk-Taking, Atlantic City, 1984. This research was supported by a grant from the Gouvernement du Québec (FCAR).     

Towards Empowerment in Child Protection Work

SUMMARY. The authors argue in this paper that the dominance of legal and professional approaches that individualise and pathologise child abuse has left welfare workers ill-equipped to respond to the emergent interest in parent's and children's rights. They suggest that such approaches fail to take adequate account of inequalities based on class, gender and race and the socially-constructed aspects of adult-child relationships. They develop a concept of empowerment, informed by radical traditions within welfare work, which can be applied in the context of state intervention to protect children. The applicability of the model is then examined through the use of two case studies.     

Risk Factors for Adolescent Pregnancy Reports Among African American Males

This study examined childhood and adolescent risk factors for males' reports of getting someone pregnant during adolescence. These questions were examined in an urban sample of 335 African American males involved in a prospective, longitudinal study. Childhood aggression significantly predicted reported pregnancies during adolescence. Boys who were stably aggressive across 3rd through 5th grades were at particularly high risk for reporting getting a female pregnant. Adolescent substance use and deviant peer involvement incrementally added to the prediction of pregnancy reports over and above the effects of childhood aggression. Adolescent aggressive problems did not contribute to reports of pregnancy once childhood aggression was accounted for in the model. These results highlight that precursors for males' pregnancy reports can be identified by as early as age 8. Findings also emphasize the importance of an expanded developmental focus to understand risk factors for adolescent pregnancy. The implications of these results are discussed for preventive interventions to reduce adolescent pregnancy.     

Self‐Employed Mexican Immigrants Residing along the U.S.‐Mexico Border: The Earnings Effect of Working in the U.S. versus Mexico1

This study uses U.S. census data from the year 2000 to analyze the earnings of Mexican immigrants along the U.S.‐Mexico border while accounting for the location in which they work. The empirical results indicate that Mexican entrepreneurs who live in U.S.‐border cities but primarily operate in Mexico accrue a significant earnings premium over their entrepreneurial and salaried counterparts working on the U.S. side of the border, even after controlling for differences in observable characteristics. This work‐location earnings gap widens when focusing on Mexican business owners lacking U.S. citizenship. It follows that policies which reduce trade and labor flows across the U.S.‐Mexico border may inadvertently dampen the entrepreneurial activities of foreign‐born residents in U.S.‐border cities.     

Transforming national health policy: The significance of the stratification system

Policy formulation and decision-making occur within a continually changing sociopolitical environment. Presently, our national health policy lacks coherence and direction. It also is in a state of transition as evidenced by the recent restricted proposal to expand Medicare coverage to catastrophic illness. A comprehensive strategy for balancing escalating medical, hospital, and insurance costs as well as those associated with long-term care while extending access has not been devised. One of the most salient reasons for this is the failure of policy makers to grasp the complexities of the multifaceted stratification system. Its diverse, interrelated strata based on age, sex, economic status, and race are not incorporated in the process of shaping vitally needed and rational health policy. Doris Y. Wilkinson, a professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky, is a co-principal investigator on an intervention project funded by the National Cancer Institute. She recently received the Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management from Johns Hopkins University.     

Children at the Centre? The Childcare Act 2006

The Childcare Act 2006 is the first piece of legislation of its kind in the UK, and is a significant development for the early years sector and childcare services more broadly. Ensuring every child has the best start in life is one of the guiding principles of the Government's 10‐year strategy for childcare, but the strategies for implementation do not always appear to place the child so firmly at the centre. The childcare agenda is primarily focused on the needs of parents and families to respond to changing working patterns and balancing work and family life.     

A Little Bit of Sugar: Integrated Service-Learning Courses

Approaches to integrated service learning are detailed for three courses—Organizational Theory, Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution, and Mediation Skills. The focus of this paper is on the process of integration rather than the specifics of the courses. A faculty member interested in developing a service-learning component in a course is advised to (1) publicly identify the course as one that includes a service-learning experience, (2) be passionate, organized, flexible, and experienced, (3) establish an excellent relationship with a community agency, (4) be flexible about course content and schedule, (5) recognize that some students may have problems with an experience-based approach to learning, and (6) conduct periodic evaluations of all stages of the service-learning experience.